'Wilmington can't have it both ways,' federal judge orders towing suit to move forward
Three months after hearing arguments for dismissing a lawsuit against Wilmington over its towing and impoundment practices, U.S. District Chief Judge Colm Connolly issued an order Tuesday for the case to move forward.
Connolly had warned attorneys during the August hearing that issuing a written decision on the matter would take some time, but told the parties “some aspect of the case” was going forward.
The judge’s written order Tuesday sets the stage for a trial to evaluate whether Wilmington’s parking enforcement policies violated residents’ constitutional rights.
While some of the allegations against the city’s policies and practices were dismissed by Connolly, the federal judge agreed with plaintiffs Ameera Shaheed and Earl Dickerson that they have viable excessive fines and takings claims – constitutional protections under the 8th and 5th Amendments, respectively.
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“Wilmington can't have it both ways,” Connolly wrote. “If it impounded plaintiffs' cars pursuant to its police powers, then plaintiffs have a viable excessive fines claim, as I cannot agree with Wilmington that the surplus value gained from scrapping plaintiffs' cars was, as a matter of law, not grossly disproportionate to plaintiffs' alleged parking violations. If, on the other hand, Wilmington scrapped plaintiffs' cars and retained the surplus value of those cars to pay for its towing contracts, then plaintiffs have a stated viable takings claim.”
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The federal lawsuit alleges the city allows private companies to tow legally parked cars that have unpaid parking tickets totaling over $200. If the owners do not pay the outstanding debt within 30 days, the tow companies can scrap the vehicles and keep the proceeds.
Attorneys from the Institute for Justice – a Virginia-based national law firm focused on limiting the size and scope of government power – representing Shaheed and Dickerson, claim the city is violating the Takings Clause by allowing tow companies to sell or scrap a vehicle without the value being credited to the owners’ parking ticket debt, which, in turn, amounts to an excessive fine.
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Institute for Justice Attorney Will Aronin said the parties will now move to the discovery phase, which will unveil data and records the city has kept on its towing and impoundment efforts.
“This is a great decision, and we can’t wait to get the city and the towing companies under oath at deposition,” Aronin said. “Wilmington empowered these companies to keep and scrap thousands of cars in exchange for running the city’s impound program. That’s unconstitutional and today’s victory brings us one huge step closer to shutting the system down for good.”
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki's deputy chief of staff John Rago provided a statement Wednesday responding to the court order.
"The city is appreciative of the court's thorough review of this case and looks forward to working with the court to resolve the remaining matters," Rago said.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Federal judge denies Wilmington's motion to dismiss towing lawsuit
